‘They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more’
(Isaiah 2:4)
In the last few days we have seen the awful escalation of conflict and destruction in the Middle East and we cry out for peace. On 7 October it will be exactly one year since we awoke to the news of the horrendous atrocities of Hamas unfolding in Southern Israel. The violent attack and dehumanising acts of the perpetrators on children, men and women, is not to be forgotten amid the awful conflict of the war in Gaza. While some hostages have been released or rescued, others have died and many remain held in Gaza. We must continue to pray and to join our voices with all in Israel to echo the call to ‘Bring them Home’. I have had the painful privilege of two separate meetings with family members of hostages, the most recent being in July of this year. The stories are heart-breaking and have even greater poignancy when we understand that so many of those families and those taken hostage were active peacemakers.
Sadly, this conflict, hatred and othering is neither new nor binary. This is not about two sides or two views: It is much more complex and messy than this, and unfortunately social media sound bites, slogans and flags, drown out the serious dialogue, and too quickly people identify as anti-Jewish or pro-Palestinian, or pro-Israel or anti-Muslim, rather than lifting our eyes to be pro-justice and anti-dehumanising, and pro-equity and anti-othering.
As many of you know, I visited Israel-Palestine a few months ago and my reflections are still available here. In the array of injustice across peoples and places, I pray we will seek to act and pray for the dignity and equity of all people created in the image of God.
This Sunday (29 September) the Kisiya family, Palestinian Christians living in the area of Al Makhrour near Bethlehem, are calling people to participate in prayer and vigils to stand in peaceful solidarity with them and their neighbours who have had their land seized or who face the threat of dispossession by illegal Israeli Settlers.
Sunday is also the festival of Michael and All Angels (Michaelmas) and we will lift our eyes to the heavenly realms and celebrate the victory of Christ’s light over darkness. As I highlight the particular place of darkness in Al Makhrour and the Occupied Territories of the West Bank, it is not at the exclusion of naming and praying for all places and peoples living with trauma, conflict, devastation and destruction. It is never an ‘either/or’, and over these coming days I urge us to particularly use our voices and prayer to cry out for peace across all places of the Middle East, and to pray for all peoples, including Christians, Jews and Muslims.
On Sunday, 29 September at 9pm I will be at Tewkesbury Abbey for a service of vigil and prayer for the people of Al Makhrour. Fr Nick will lead this, and all are welcome.
With my thanks and prayers as ever,
The collect for Michael and all Angels:
Everlasting God,
you have ordained and constituted the ministries of angels and mortals
in a wonderful order:
Grant that as your holy angels always serve you in heaven,
so, at your command, they may help and defend us on earth;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen
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